Illfe
(TRAVELED for a month through
the heart of Mexico looking for the
women of beauty and romance of
whom I had heard bo much. In
all that month I saw not one of
thorn. Instead, there was always a
horde of sad creatures, child-laden,
prematurely old, who hung about the
railway stations and repeated the
plaint, "Un cimtavo, un centavo," al
ways begging for a mere penny. And
further back there was the hovel
where the mother presided over the
destinies of a large family and at
tempted to make ends meet on the
small and Irregular earnings of her
men folks, writes W. A. Du Puy In
the Detroit Free Press.
' There are two dominating Ideas In
the mind of the resident of the United
8tates with reference to the people of
Mexico. Light opera Is responsible
for both. The first la the picture of
the man a creature of an Inconceiv
ably wide hat, of trousers skin tight
to the ankles, of flowering, scarlet
lash and colorful blanket. And the
picture Is true In Its minutest details.
No stager of light opera has ever ex
aggerated the man of Mexico. He
loafs today In magnificent ennui about
the railway stations at Chihuahu:, and
Saltlllo and San Luis PotoBl so ar
rayed as to defy exaggeration.
The second Mexican Idea of the
man from the states Is of the senorlta,
gay clad, bespangled, jangling her
tambourine and with a dagger, for
lealousy, hidden In her bosom. But
this maiden Is as conspicuous for her
absence as Is the male of the species
for his omnipresence.
Poverty Prevents.
For It must be remembered that the
people of Mexico are Inexpressibly
poor. It Is of the masses I am writ
ing, the 98 per cent. When Diaz be
came president there was an occasion
al opportunity for the native to earn
15 cents a dy at hard labor. Diaz
let In foreign capital for the develop
ment of Industry and In 30 years these
same men could earn 60 cents a day
and had more opportunity to work.
Yet even this was not luxury.
And the bnys and girls grew un as
XJ hjp B;f aH
SCZVit IN SOUTHERN MEXICO ,
do the herds In the fields and mated
long before they had reached matur
ity. Sometimes there was the formal
ity of marriage, but more often there
was not, for the fees were prohibitive.
It was rare that a peon girl passed
the age of fourteen without having
found herself a mate.
This name girl at twenty was the
mother of four children. At that age
she should have Just been coming
Into her maturity, blossoming Into
whatever of beauty lay within her.
But the girl cf twenty who, In pov
erty, has brought Into the world four
youngsters and cared for them, has
had little chance for the flowering
forth of the latent beauty that may
have been her birthright.
This Is the condition that is almost
universal among the people of the
masses. It Is because of this condi
tion that one looks In vain for the
dream maiden of Mexico who burns
up her soul In Jealousy for her sweet
heart and slips the stiletto between
his ribs rather than lose Mm.
It Is a condition almost ur.'.versal,
but not quite. There Is the town of
Tehuantepec that Baves the day, for
Tehuantepec Is the home of women
who throw down the gauntlet to all
the world for beauty and for those
characteristics of leadership that dom
inate all around them.
Where Mexico grows narrowest to
ward the southern end the Isthmus of
Tehuantepec separates the main body
of the country from Yucatan. A rail
road crosses this Isthmus and makes
a short cut between New York and the
Orient. At the top of the divide there
Is a native Indian town and here re
side Mexico's amazons. Here tare
found those rare natives with the
fluted and extraordinary headgear that
has won an International reputation.
When the traveler alights In Tehuan
tcpec ho is met by peddlers of opals
and beads beaten out by native gold
smiths from the metal of tribal mines,
and the fruits of the "tierra caliente."
Soon he notices that these peddlers
are all women and that many of them
are young and beautiful. He passeB
into the market place, whore he finds
innumerable stalls, also presided over
by women. There Is the appearance
of immaculate cleanliness and the air
of business efficiency. Near by are
native stores, also presided over by
women. There Is hardly a male crea
ture anywhere to be seen,
Eventually the traveler learns that
this is a city of pretty women. There
are 3,000 of them and but BOO men.
They have assumed the reins of gov
ernment and the responsibility of pro
viding for their own support. They
have done both so effectively that
Tehuantepec Is the cleanest, best gov
erned, most prosperous community
between the Rio Grande and Guate
mala. And the beauty of these self-governing,
self-supporting women lifts the
traveler out of his boots. They are a
remnant of the unsullied blood of the
Aztecs, that race of high civilization
that suffered so tragically when it fell
under the all-blighting domination of
Spain. They are a remnant of the
people who built pyramids that rival
those of Egypt and temples of such
decorative beauty as to draw students
from the world around Into the Jun
gles of Yucatan. And these women
have a classic delicacy of feature and
a dignity that is In accord with this
ancestry.
, A Diaz Tragedy.
This manless Eden is also a heritage
from the Diaz regime. President Diaz
sent his younger brother to Tehuante
pec as governor. This latter was but
an unlettered Indian and possessed
none of the unusual qualities of Por
flrlo. He governed his Aztec subjects
with aboriginal cruelty and stupidity.
His many atrocities came to a
climax when, one day, he Bhot and
killed one of these women of Tehuan
tepec as she passed his dwelling. The
shooting was done on a wager and
merely to prove his marksmanship.
There Is a touch of cruelty in even
the Aztec when aroused. The people
rose as a man and went for Governor
Diaz. When they had captured him
they performed an operation that is
not unpopular In Mexico. They
skinned the bottoms of his feet and
then forced hlin to walk to his execu
tion. To avenge the death of his younger
brother President Diaz dispatched an
army to Tehuantepec with Instructions
to kill every male in the village. The
orders were so effectually carried out
that the only men left were those who
fled to the mountains.
Since then the town has been a com
munity almost without men. As I
walked the streets of this native city
of the tropics one of the most pe
culiar of the efforts of Nature to keep
her balance was thrust upon me. The
male children of the Tehuanas go
Btark naked, but the little girls wear
a skirt about their waists. I noticed
that there seemed to be many more
male children than female. So great
w as the apparent difference in numbers
between the sexes that I began to keep
a tally. At the end of the day I had
seen four times as many boys as girls.
Patented by Woman.
Once In a while a woman patents
something that one would only expect
a man to know anything about. An
example of this is the patent of Mlsa
Anna R. Tye of St. Joseph, who has
patented an automatic stop for trol
leys on overhead wires, combined with
! a switch to move the step.
VIBRATOR IS DEMOUNTABLE
Electrio Apparatus Easily Taken
Apart and Cleaned Vibrations
Stimulate Tissues.
This electrio vibrator can be takei
apart, merely by the turn of a couple
of thumb Bcrews and put together
again JuHt as easily. The vibrator, so
constructed, Is believed to be the first
to Incorporato this valuable feature.
Users of electrio vibrators will un
derstand at a glance the value of be
ing able to take the machine apart
and assemble It again. Such a ma
chine may be easily examined and
cleaned. Any excess of oil may be
wiped away and the brushes kept free
from matter which might cause slow
ing up of the motor.
The vibrations are strong enough to
stimulate but not strong enough to do
New Electric Vibrator.
any harm. They are strong enough
to reach locally any point deeply
situated In the tissues.
ELECTRIC TIMBER SEASONING
Effect of Current Is to Produce Chem
ical Changes In Cellulose and
Sap to Prevent Decay.
. In describing his latest researches
In the electrical seasoning of timber,
says the Electrical Review of London,
Doctor Nodon claims that his process
can be applied In the forest where the
trees are felled, since no cumbrous
or costly equipment Is required. The
process depends on the electrolysis
of cellulose and Its derivatives. The
newly-felled trees are sawn Into thick
planks and laid on a false flooring,
pne on top of the other, with the Inter
position, however, of moistened mat
ing, or similar material between each
layer, to act as electrodes for Intro
duction of an alternating current which
Is passed for ten hours or so.
, The effect of the current Is to pro
'duce chemical changes In the cellulose
and the sap, rendering them Im
pervious to decay. Further, the sap
loses those gummy and hygroscopic
characteristics which normally pre
sent rapid decaying. It Is claimed
that timber thus treated is ready for
use a few weeks after it Is foiled and
Is harder, stronger, .more homo
geneous, easier to work, and less
warped by moisture than timber
which has been seasoned by the or
dinary air drying process.
Paving blocks treated by the Nodon
process are said to have been In use
at Bordeaux for six years without
showing appreciable deterioration.
Electricity In Japan.
Within ten years the electric wire
mileage of Japan has increased from
less than ten thousand to more than
thirty-five thousand, the electric rail
way mileage from less than one hun
dred to more than seven hundrad
and the power production from less
than forty-five thousand to more than
three hundred and forty-five thousand
kilowatts.
Phenol and formaldehyde are com
pressed together to form a new In
sulator for electrical purposes.
m
TiiiTnn cars for electric railroads
which are emptied by motors, thus
saving labor, have been invented by
a Connecticut man.
Imnni the new electrln rlirnr
lighters for automoblllsts Is one in
closed In a watchcase, which can be
hung up by the ring.
Swiss railways use en ambulance
r pnmnletelv eaulDDed with electri
cal appliances that are supplied with
current by a generator mounted on
one axle.
In a New York church there Is an
Incandescent lamp that has been used
seven hours a day ior more than sev
en years, which is believed to be the
world's record.
Two Illinois Inventors have patent
ed a trap which attracts Insects with
in It by a lighted lamp so that they
come Into contact with electrically
charged wires and are killed.
Iceless refrigerators for household
use, In which ammonia, circulated by
electric motors, Is used, have been In
vented, which are said to be more
economical than those requiring Ice.
A new portable electric lamp has a
base that may be fastened to furni
ture with a spring clip or to any
Bmooth surface by a suction cup,
while a spring takes up the slack of
the teed wire.
ELECTRICAL
1 NOTES!
New Indian Animal Stories
How the Turkey Got His Beard
a d
By JOHN M.
Children, Color
(Copyright, by MrClure Ncwspapor Syndl-
cate. )
Long time ago, when the hunters
brought in wild turkey from the hunt
and the little boys stood round to see
how big it was, or tried to swing it
over their shoulders as the hunters
did, the old men would come into the
group and ask the boys If they knew
how the turkey got his beard.
Now, what the old men called the
beard of the turkey was the long, red
strip of flesh which hangs under Its
head; and because of it the boys knew
that they were not allowed to eat any
meat from the turkey's neck. So the
boys would ask how the turkey got
his beard, and the old men would tell
this story:
It was after the terrapin had won
his race from the rabbit that the tur
key met the terrapin fin the trail. And
he stopped to ask the terrapin how It
was that he could beat the rabbit. But
the terrapin would not tell about the
trick he had played on the boastful
rabbit; and he pretended that he could
really run very fast.
"Well," said the turkey, "you may
be able to outrun the rabbit, but I
think I could beat you."
"Ho! ho!" Bald the terrapin, and he
wouldn't talk about the race any more.
So the turkey stood on one leg for a
while and looked around, and then
he stood on the other leg and looked
around. Then he yawned and said to
the terrapin:
"What is that you have hanging
from your belt?"
"That is a fresh scalp," said the ter
rapin. "It doesn't look very well there,"
said the turkey.
HEALTH HINTS FOR THE BOYS
Young Fellows Should Have Eight or
Nine Hours of Sleep Always Rest
on Right Side.
(By DR. GORDON STAPLES.)
First about sleep and early rielng.
Well, my own best time for work la
from seven in the morning, when I
turn out and tub, till 1 p. m.
. You should have eight hours Bleep,
or even nine; but if possible two of
these hours should be taken before
midnight
Young fellows should sleep on a
hard mattress and with just as few
bedclothes as possible. Mothers are
greatly to blame in heaping thoir boys'
beds with heavy blankets. By bo doing
they are elmply naking Bottles of their
boys and preventing them from grow
ing up into strong, hardy men.
Sleeping under a weight of bed
clothes not only softens and weakens
the muscles, but in the young often
times leads to bad dreams, even bring
ing on what are universally called
nightmares.
As to food: Eat nothing that is
likely to disagree or cause indigestion,
flatulence or heartburn. Eat but little
meat, as this is exciting. Live for a
time on plenty of milk, eggs, fish, pud
ding and porridge, if you can get them.
Take a large draft of hot, or even
cold, water half an hour before break
fast. Never eat a late supper, but do not
go to bed hungry.
I have told you the mattress should
be hard and the bedclothes light. Well,
you must cultivate the habit of lying
on your right side, not on the back.
Sleeping on the back brings on bad
dreams. Go early to bed, and rise at
seven.
Take & hot bath every week and a
cold sponge bath every morning. You
won't like It at first, but, as Scotch
folk say, "Ye maun thole (bear) a pain
for a profit"
Hub very well down with rough
towels. Take a short spell of light
dumbbells, then ten minutes' walk, and
go In to a hearty breakfast
Look upon cold water and fresh air
as your dearest friends and real physicians.
a D
Up This Picture.
"Where would it look better?" asked
the terrapin.
"Let me show you how well it would
look around my neck," said the tur
key. And the terrapin handed over
the fresh, red scalp.
With a string the turkey tied It un
der his" chin.
"Now," said the turkey, "I will walk
a little way and you can tell me how
it looks." So he walked a little way
and the terrapin called out that It
looked very well.
"Now I will fix It a different way
and you can tell me how it looks."
And he walked farther away.
"Oh, that looks still better!" cried
the terrapin. When he heard that, the
turkey just kept on walking, and when
the terrapin called to him to come back
the turkey didn't even turn his head.
But the terrapin had his bow and
arrows with him, so he took one of the
arrows which had been made by the
medicine people and shot it at the
turkey as he was running away.
Now the arrow struck the legs of the
turkey and broke Into a great number
of pieces, like cane splints. And thai
is the reason why the legs of the tur
key have such a lot of small bones in
them.
Of course, the turkey, even after he
was crippled by the arrow, was able
to run away from the terrapin, and bo
he has kept the beard he stole.
And, of course, when the little boya
found out what the turkey's beard
really was they knew why they were
never allowed to eat any of the neck
of the turkeys which the hunters
brought In.
MAKING FLINT ARROW HEADS
Old Indian Art Not So Difficult as
Many Supposed Now Made for
Commercial Purposes.
The old Indian art of making flint
arrow heads was not so difficult as is
usually imagined white men are ma
king "old and genuine" Indian arrow
heads now for commercial purposes
and by the old Indian methods. Flint
is not chipped with stone or with
metal, but with water. When an In-
An Indian Using Fire and Water to
Shape a Piece of Flint Into an Ar
row Head.
dlan wished to make an arrow head,
he held a piece of flint in a fire until
it was very hot and then allowed a
drop of water to drip from the end of
a stick upon the spot to be chipped
away. The sudden cooling made the
flint chip off Immediately. Some cun
ning is of course necessary in the
shaping of the arrow head, but the
old Indian method is the best that has
been found.
Happy or Brave.
When you cannot be happy, you can
be brave. There are things nobody
can especially enjoy, aches, pains,
disappointments, unkindnesses, and
things of that sort Nobody expects
that you girls can be just as happy
over your troubles as you are over
your blessings. But that does not ex
cuse you for fretting and whimpering,
just as soon as things go wrong. If
you cannot be happy, you can bo
brave, .
OSKISON
mm
ONE WAY TO HARNESS HORSE
Two 8uperlor Town Youths Recuper
ating In Country Experienced Dif
ficulty In Placing Bit.
"If you fellowB care to go for a
spin in the dogcart do bo with pleas
ure," said the farmer to the two su
perior town youths who were recuper
ating in the country.
"Not bad sport, that," said one to
the other when the farmer had Bet oft
for his turnip fieldB.
"Easy thing to harness a horse,
iBn't it?"
"Oh, quite simple, dear boy."
Nevertheless, both seemed a little
doubtful on reaching the stable as
to whether the animal's head or tall
was the correct point at which to
start.
Argument decided that the lattor
end of the wretched animal was the
starting point, and after much snort
ing and stamping,- they reached the
head, where their chief difficulty lay
in adjusting the bit.
"There's only one thing to do
wait," said one despairingly.
"Walt? For what?"
"Why, wait for the wretched beast
to yawn." Pittsburgh Chronicle-Telegraph.
IN DAYS OF OLD.
Sir Walter Raleigh The king can
do no wrong.
Queen Elizabeth Yes, but what a
wearisome life a king's must be.
Housewife Instinct.
Woman Election Inspectress There
are 'three spoiled ballots.
Ditto Oh, dear; but then, I suppose
we can make them over Into some
thing else. Puck.
What It Goes For.
"To most people a nickel means one
of three things."
"Well?"
"A glass of beer, a trolley ride or
a moving-picture show."
Drawing.
Gabe What does your friend do for
o living?
Steve He draws from real life.
Gabe Oh, he's an artiBt!
Steve No; he's a dentist
Literary.
"And what do you do for a living
Alexis?"
"I write."
"What?" ,
"Letters to my father."
Showed Him.
"I told Uncle Simon that he was
getting too old and feeble to attend
to business."
"Did he take It kindly?"
"He threw me out of the office."
Persuasive.
"You've heard the old Baying that
Satan finds work tor Idle hands to do."
"Oh, yes. And not only that, but he
often Induces busy hands to make a
radical change In the kind of work
they do."
No Team Work.
Husband I can't understand whv
they haven't sent some one to meet
us, unless your letter went astray.
Wife My letter! Why, Frank, I
distinctly understood that you had
written. Judge.
The Ostrich.
"Why are you puffing like a steam
engine and raising that cloud nf
smoker
"Sh-h-hl There's a man i th...
- - luciq
I owe money and I don't want him to
see me. judge.
Paw Knows Everything.
Willie Paw, are a man and his wife
one?
Paw Yes, my son.
Willie Then how many was Solo-i
monj ,
Paw You go to bed, young man.